Federal Programs

About Us

Public Buildings Service

To cultivate innovative regional coordination, design, and planning practices for accommodating federal offices in the Washington region over the next half-century.

Decisions about the form, nature, and location of federal work will have a tremendous influence on the long-term social, economic,

environmental, and cultural health of the region.

Developing an urban planning vision for how to locate and develop federal work places will require close collaboration with both public and private stakeholders.

The federal government seeks to encourage this effective regional coordination and plan intelligently, guided by mutual regional concerns such as sustainability, energy consumption, transportation infrastructure, security, new technologies, including those that facilitate telework opportunities, as well as the changing regional economics of land, housing, and workforce issues.In order to promote a guiding vision for the future of federal work in the Washington region, the General Services Administration's (GSA) Public Building Service (PBS) will award competitive grants in the range of $50,000 to $500,000 for coordination, planning, and research efforts that explore fundamental questions related to the form, location, and design of federal offices over the next 10 to 50 years in the National Capital Region.

The maximum aggregate value of the grants is $500,000.

Regarding the above, the government may choose to fund multiple proposals that take very different approaches to these issues, if such proposals meet the government's interests.

Through this competitive grant opportunity, GSA seeks to facilitate the research and coordination efforts that would help regional stakeholders better understand how long-term federal facility needs may be met in concert with long range regional transportation, housing, employment, telework opportunities, sustainability, and socio-economic goals and trends; the range of risks and opportunities affecting federal facility siting and development decisions; and the long-range planning and coordination needed to meet related regional challenges.

The envisioned grants may be for the purposes of directly assisting in the coordination of long-term federal workplace siting decisions with regional stakeholders; providing the research needed to better inform such coordination; or a combination of the above purposes.

GSA is not soliciting positions on policy issues pending before Congress, the executive branch, or other domestic bodies and will not fund grant proposals of a partisan political nature.

However, projects that lead to policy recommendations for governments, international organizations, or nongovernmental organizations are welcome and indeed encouraged, although such recommendations will be those of the grantee and not GSA.

Institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, State or local governments, or individuals with experience in the analysis or coordination of the planning issues described above.

Joint ventures between any of these types of entities are welcome.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, State or local governments, or individuals with experience in the analysis or coordination of the planning issues described above.

Credentials/Documentation

Applicants who wish to be considered for these competitive grants must submit a grant proposal that includes an executive summary describing the proposed work; an SF-424 Facesheet, as referenced in OMB Circulars A-102 and A-110, a description of proposed work, detailed explanation of your funding request in a SF-424a, as referenced in Circulars A-102 and A-110; a description of the grantee's prior experience; and three references outside of the requesting entity who the government may contact as a reference for the entity's past performance.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

Grant proposals will be evaluated by a panel consisting of GSA officials and GSA Design Excellence Peers, who are nationally recognized private sector experts in the field of urban planning and design. Successful grantees will be notified by July 31, 2008.

Award Procedures

Grant funds will be issued upon the selection of grantees, as described in the Application Procedure. Upon approval of the Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Budget and Financial Management and the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service.

Deadlines

Not applicable.

Authorization

Public Law 110-161, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008; Division D-Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2008; Title V, General Services Administration.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Applications must be received by 5pm on June 20, 2008. Grants will be announced by July 31, 2008.

GSA will give preference to those proposals that it believes would best promote the purpose stated in Public Law 110-161 to encourage better understanding and coordination among State and local governments, the commercial sector, and other major stakeholders in the region about federal facilities siting decisions and long term regional needs and trends, as described above. Additionally, important factors for consideration of the grant proposals will include assessment of the following: The potential for effective use by relevant stakeholders, including the federal and regional governments, the private sector, and other key regional decision makers; the potential to advance regional understanding or coordination in a new or creative way; the ability of the requesting organization to deliver their proposed work effort; how the proposed grant funding would be leveraged by other investments or efforts, to maximize its effect; and how the proposed work supports GSA's mission and goals of leveraging the buying power of the federal government to acquire best value for taxpayers and our federal customers to deliver superior workplaces. Finally, GSA will consider the totality of submitted proposals and award grants based, in part, on how the collective body of work proposed by all the grantees would best advance the goals expressed in this grant opportunity.